U.J.A. Contributions Continue to Be Tax-deductible, Washington Rules

The United Jewish Appeal announced today that the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that contributions made to the UJA are and continue to be tax-deductible under the recent ruling relating to charitable funds used abroad.

In making this announcement, Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman, executive vice-chairman of the UJA, emphasized that “the Internal Revenue Service approval covers contributions by individuals, corporations and foundation.” (The ruling was made Dec. 9.)

“The ruling,” the UJA executive head said, “has reference to so-called ‘conduit’ organizations where funds are raised for overseas philanthropies without control over these funds by American citizens. The United Jewish Appeal is not a conduit organization, since its beneficiaries control the use of funds through boards made up of American citizens.”

“The rules for deductibility just publicly announced by the Internal Revenue Service have already been applied by it to the United Jewish Appeal, and the Service has ruled that the UJA meets these requirements. There is therefore no question about the tax deductibility of contributions to the United Jewish Appeal,” the UJA statement stressed.

(In Washington, Internal Revenue officials said that the ruling did not represent a reversal of policy as such. They said that the agency had been making rulings along this line, upon request from individual charitable organizations for about five years. The number of requests for individual rulings became so large, they said, that they decided to issue a general ruling.)